Professional Development: IT Integration
From APEC HRDWG Wiki
Teacher quality is an important aspect of any education system and although debate exists as to what exactly constitutes a teacher quality indicator, most observers agree that teacher professional development is one element that relates to the quality or effectiveness of the teacher. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is administered to 4th and 8th grade students across various APEC economies to test student curriculum-based knowledge. The TIMSS also administers a teacher questionnaire to the teachers of the students surveyed. This questionnaire includes many items related to teacher quality, such as teacher professional development. Although not all APEC economies participate in the TIMSS, the data that is available allows for a comparison of various factors across participating APEC economies. The rest of this page contains information on teacher professional development in the integration of Information Technology into the Mathematics and Science classrooms of those teachers surveyed during the 2007 TIMSS in the selected participating APEC economies.
For other information on teacher quality, please visit the Teacher Quality Portal page.
Summary
Internationally and on average in the selected economies, most 4th grade Mathematics teachers do not participate in Professional Development in the integration of Information Technology into the Mathematics curriculum. In fact, the only two economies where more than half of the 4th grade Mathematics teachers do participate in this type of Professional Development is Singapore and the Russian Federation with 51% of their 4th grade teachers.
Albeit, internationally less than half of the 8th grade Mathematics teachers participate in Professional Development in IT, this is not the case in most of the selected economies. Of the selected economies, only the majority of 8th grade Mathematics teachers in Indonesia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea do not participate in this type of Professional Development. The highest percentage of 8th grade teacher participation, on the other hand, is found in Singapore, Thailand, and Chinese Taipei at 74%, 73%, and 73% respectively.
Chart 1. Percentage of 4th Grade Math Teachers Participation in Professional Development in IT Integration
Chart 2. Percentage of 8th Grade Math Teachers Participation in Professional Development in IT Integration
Chart 3. Percentage of 4th Grade Science Teachers Participation in Professional Development in IT Integration
Chart 4. Percentage of 8th Grade Science Teachers Participation in Professional Development in IT Integration
